Railroad signaling device.



A. STADLER. RAILROAD SIGNALING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 20, 1912.

Patented Oct. '7, 1913.

f i i ATTORNEYS sa rrrss Ariana. osnicia ANDREW swan-Lian, or A-prooua, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIoNoR or ohm-ham TO ALBERT W. sEcKMAN, or ALTooNa, PENNSYLVANIA.

iaii'iiirtohn SIGNALING nnv'rcn.

"Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Got. '7, i -$513.

Applica'tionfiled November 20, 191-2. Serial No 732,452.

To all whom it may concern 1 Be it known that 1, ANDREW Simon-En.

' a citizen of the United States, and afresident of Altoonzu-i'n the county of Blair and Stateot Pennsylvania, have made certain new aiid useful Improvements in Railroad Signaling Devices, of seam; is a specification.

My invention relates to improvemeI-its in railroad signaling devices,-and it consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of this invention is to provide a set of signals which maybe placed on the cab or any suit-able place in full view of the engine men, these signals to correspond with the track signals, so that it the latter should be overlooked on account of high speed or heavy "tog, the signals within the cab itself will indicate the condition o't'tho track.

' A further object of .:i; V invention is to provide novel means actuated by a trip on the track for setting the signals in the cab.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification and the novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

lvly invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming pa'rt of this application in which similar referencecharactcrs indicate like parts in the several views and in which- Figure 1 is a bottom view of a locomotirc or car equipped with my improved signaling apparatus, Fig. 2 is a section along the line -2-2. looking in the direction of the arrow, Fig. 3 is a section similar to that shown in Fig. 2, showing the apparatus in a shifted position. Fig. 4 is a section along the line 4- t of Fig. 1, Fig. 5 is a perspective View oi a portion of the switch mechanism, and Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the circuit for operating the signals.

in carryingout my invention. the locomotive or car body 1 is provided with electrical switching devices secured to the bottom thereof. These electrical switching devices are preferably three in number, and a description of one will sutlice since they are all precisely alike.

Referring now to Fig. 2 I have shown therein an insulating block or plate which .is secured to the bottom of he or loco- {allowing motive 1, and which bears a downwardly projecting central support At the ends of the support 3 are side'pieoe's i and 5 respectively which are also secured to the plate 2. The plate 2,;support 3 and the side pieces 4 and are preferably of Wood, although they may be made of other insulatilrg material. Llhe support 3' is provided with vertical slots 6 extending upwardly over the bottom, and in -each slot is disposed a lever like that shown at '4 in 2 and 3. These levers have a common pivotal rod 8.

Each lever is provided with a lower curved surface 7*, a lockingdetent 7* on one side of the pivot, and a laterally extending cam portion '2: on the other side. liall'llll mgdl to engage the detent T is a locking dog 9. which is pivoted at 10. and which is provided with a tooth 9 arranged to enigage the detent T1. The opposite end oi the doc is pressed upon by a spring ll. The cam portion '1' of each lever is arrangeihto engage an arm 1-2, which is loosely mounted on a rod 13 whose ends are supported in the side members 4: and 5. These arms 12 are spaced apart by sleeves 14 carried by the rod 13, as shown in Fig. 1. Each rod 12 provided with a spring contact member. such as that shown at :12. having a curved portion 12 arranged to engage a pair of cont-act members 14. carried by a bar 1:") which is secured to the support 1-). In Fig. 5 l have shown three pairs of these contacts. which l have designated id. 14- and l4 respectively. '(lnc of each pair is connected to a wire 16, leading to a battery 17 (see Fig. The other contact ot each pair has a wire leading to its individual signal light. as will be explained later. A-spring 18, which is secured to a cross bar 19 is provided for each arm l2. so as to keep the arm always in contact with the cam portion 7 ot' the lever T. In Figs. 2, $3 and l. l have shown a rock shaft 20 which is journaled in the side members t and and which bears arms 21 arranged to engage the spring pressed ends of the locking dogs 9; This rock-arm is provided with a handle 29 at oneend thereof having a pull rod or cord 23 for operating the handle.

Arranged to cooperate with the mechanism thus far described is a trip member 24. The latter is slidably mounted on guides 25, which are secured to the cross ties 26. An

ties to the outside of the track (see Fig. 1). This rod may be manipulated by mechanism from a signal tower (not shown) or manually, or in any other suitable way. The trip 24: may be moved so as to engage any one of the levers 7. The upper surface of the trip is curved so as to give a gradual sliding contactin order to prevent injury to the trip itself or to the lever which it is designed to engage.

In Fig. 6 I have shown the signal lights. 'These lights are preferably of three colorsto correspond with the track signals. I preterably connect two lamps in parallel, since if one is burned out the other will operate. At 28 is shown the white lights, at 29 the red or danger lights, and at 30 the green or caution lights. In the danger signal or red light circuit, I have interposed a bell 31, this being an additional means of warning the engineer of danger, it he should neglect to observe the lighting of the red lamp.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of the device the operation thereof may be readily understood.

If the track is not clear and there is danger of collision the track mechanism. may be set in the position indicated in Fig. 4. \Vith the train proceeding in the direction indicated in Fig. 2, the trip will strike the lever 7 and will throw it into the position shown in Fig. 3, where it will be locked by the dog 9. This will rotate the arm 12, so as to bring its contact 12 against the two contacts shown at 14, thereby-closing the circuitv from battery 17 (see Fig. 6) through the wire 16, 14c, danger lamps 29, bell 31, and conductor 32 to battery. The current from the battery will cause the lighting up of the lamps 29 and the ringing of the bell 31. The engineer will thus have a double check. In case it is desired to display the white light or a green light, the trip may be moved to either of the dotted lined positions shown in Fig. 4. The lights will continue to burn until the pull rod or cord is operated, when the rock arm 20 will be turned so as to bring the arms 21 against the spring ressed end of the dog 9, when the latter will be forcedout ot-the detent T spring 18 will then force the arm 12 back into the position shown in Fig. 2, thereby bringing the lever 7 into its original position This action will occur no matter what lever is locked.

It will be apparent that the trip 2 1 may be set to correspond with the track signals, and

if this is done the engineer always has in i operating rod 27 extends between the cross I The his cab a reproduction of the signals on the track. I

Iclaim:

1. In an electric switch, a support, a lever pivotally mounted on said support, one end of said lever being provided with a notch, the opposite end of said lever provided with a notch, the opposite end of each of said levers constituting a cam member, a spring-actuated locking dog for each lever arranged to enter the notch in its lever, a rock arm arranged to be engaged by the cam portion of each of said levers, a spring contact carried by each rock arm, a pair of fixed contacts for each spring contact arranged to be engaged by the latter,

springs for holding said rock arms against the-cam portions of their individual levers, and means for simultaneously engaging all of said locking dogs that .are in looking position for unlocking said levers.

3. In an electric switch, 'a support, a plurality of levers pivotally mounted on said support one end of each of said levers being provided with a notch, the opposite end of each of said levers constituting a cam member, a spring-actuated locking dog for each lever arranged to enter the notch in its lever, a rock arm arranged to be engaged by the cam portion of each of said levers, a spring contact carried by each rock arm, a pair of fixed contacts for each spring contact arranged to be engaged by the latter, springs for holding said rock arms against the cam portions of their individual levers, means for simultaneously engaging all of said locking dogs that are in looking position for unlocking said levers, said last named means comprising a rock shaft. extending transversely of said locking dogs,

an individual rock arm for each dog carried 7 by said rock shaft and arranged to engage ,the dog, and means for rotating the rock and breaking the circuit of the signal it 14.

shaft.

\ NDREW STADLER.

WVitnesses n THEo. In t'nswronn, J. IV. Mum-3n. 

